Sunrise Beach Park is located just north of Gig Harbor, on the
peninsula side of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (about 45 miles from
Seattle). The site is actually at the south end of Colvos Passage and
is subjected to some very strong and unusual currents.

In my opinion, Sunrise is one of the best shore dives in Puget
Sound. The main attraction of this site is a 25 foot high rugged rock
wall that runs along the shoreline for about 200 feet. The wall starts
at about 25 - 35 fsw, runs down to about 60 fsw, and is pocketed with
cracks, crevices, fissures and holes which many marine creatures use
for cover. At the base of the wall are large boulders and rocks that
also serve as excellent structure for countless varieties of marine
life. Above the wall is a gently sloping mud bottom that is
interesting in it's own right (including eel grass fields, boulders,
some kelp, and sand stone ledges).

Countless varieties of marine life can be found on the wall,
however Wolf-eels usually steal the show. Numerous resident Wolf-eels
live at this site, and are amongst some of the friendliest Wolf-eels I
have encountered (the friendliest, however, have to be those on the
Wreck of the Themus ). I have counted up to eight different Wolf-eels
here on a single dive. Certain animals will take an offering of
herring (that I bring along). If you dare feed or handle these animal,
be careful and remember they are wild animals. NEVER restrain the
animal, or hold it firmly. Remember, these timid creature have jaws
and teeth that are normally used for devouring urchins, so your hand
(or any other part of you, for that matter) would not present much of
a challenge to an angered or frightened Wolf-eel.

The Wolf-eels hide out in various dens along the walls, or amongst
the boulders at the base of the wall. If you are fortunate to dive
here enough, you will eventually become familiar with the usual
Wolf-eel haunts, and Wolf-eel encounters will become a certainty
(currents permitting, but more about that later). Some of the places
where I consistently find Wolf-eels on the wall are as follows:

There is a very large indentation in the wall just past the half
way mark (heading south) highlighted by a huge fissure on the southern
side (about 7 feet long). The fissure is horizontal, but slopes from
almost the top of the wall down to the southeast. Giant Pacific
Octopus sometimes occupy this fissure. In fact, the largest Giant
Pacific Octopus I have seen to date used to frequent this den - her
arms were at least 7 feet long. Unfortunately, she died, as most
female octopus do, after hatching her eggs in 2001. Anyway, there are
potential Wolf-eel dens at either end of this fissure. I often find a
Wolf-eel pair in the top den, and occasionally find a juvenile in the
bottom den.

At the very south of the wall, there is a very obvious "hole" in
the wall, just big enough to fit a couple of Wolf-eels. Below the
"mid wall" fissure, there are a number of large boulder. Under one of
the boulders (in about 60 fsw), there is a den where I consistently
find a very bold male Wolf-eel. This Wolf-eel almost always comes out
of it's den for a herring handout.

On the north end of the wall near the top, there is a small "tunnel" that
runs through a protruding portion of the wall. The tunnel is elbow shaped,
and is just big enough for a couple of Wolf-eels. Often, I just find one
Wolf-eel in this den.

There are countless other potential dens located throughout the
wall. My observations are that most of these creatures switch dens
from time to time. I know of at least one particular Wolf-eel that I
have found in three different dens.

Although Wolf-eels are almost a certainty at this site, Giant
Pacific Octopus are a little more hit and miss. This is the first
Puget Sound site where I was fortunate enough to see a large Giant
Pacific Octopus (about 8 feet across, 5 feet long) in the open. Most
of the time, you will just see a part on an arm of an octopus as it
hides in its den. If you find an octopus in the "mid wall" fissure,
which is a bit more exposed, you can usually look the octopus right in
the eye.

Other fish that will often accompany you on a dive here are
Ratfish, Copper, Brown, and Quillback Rockfish, Lingcod, Painted and
Kelp Greenlings, many varieties of sculpins (Red Irish Lords, Longfin,
Buffalo, and Scalyhead), Green Sea Urchins, scallops (some of which
will swim if disturbed), Rock Sole, Starry Flounder, countless sea
stars, warbonnets, gunnels, different varieties of nudibranchs - the
list goes on and on. If you bring herring with you to feed the
Wolf-eels, be wary of the rockfish. On more than one occasion, I have
had a bold rockfish dart in, startle me, and steal a herring from my
hand. Also watch for Buffalo Scuplins. They are masters of camouflage
and blend in brilliantly with the pink on the rock wall.

Above the wall, the marine life varies. Rock Sole, Starry Flounder,
Moon Snail, Penpoint, Saddleback, Crescent Gunnel, shrimp, and hermit
crabs always seem to be present. However, at different times I have
found Pacific Snake Prickleback, Pink Nudibranch, and Ratfish. I even
saw a small family of otters here once. The park at Sunrise is rather
small. It is only open from dusk to dawn, so night diving here by
shore is usually not option. There is dirt parking for about a dozen
cars. Amenities here are minimal, and consist of a few picnic tables,
a garbage can, and a porta-potty. There used to be a large picnic
shelter here too, which was nice for gearing up when it rained.
However, it has recently been removed and all that remains is the
concrete slab it was based upon.

This dive can be done as a shore or boat dive. So far, I have
always done it as a shore dive. However, be warned - the path from
the parking lot to the shore is long and steep - very steep when you
have a ton of scuba gear on your back. The vertical drop is about 100
feet (guestimate). I know many people will not dive this site by
shore because of the hike. You should be in good shape if you wish to
dive this site by shore. If not, get on a local charter and do it by
boat.

Getting here by car is a little complicated, as you have to wind
through a number of back roads. Here is how I get to Sunrise Beach
Park: From Seattle go south on I-5, take Highway 16 across the Tacoma
Narrows Bridge, and take the Gig Harbor "City Center" exit. At the
stop light at the end of the off ramp, go straight (which I believe is
Stingon Ave), and follow the road though a stop sign to the water. If
you go straight at this stop sign, you will end up in Gig Harbor,
start your dive early, and not see any Wolf-eels (but not encounter
any current either). The best bet is to turn left onto Harborview
Dr. and follow the road around the harbor to the right (there is a
stop sign where you need to veer right), where the road becomes N
.Harborview Dr. The road will eventually "T" again. Turn right on to
Vernhardson St. at the "T". Lost yet? If not, follow Verhardson
St. a short distance to Crescent Valley Drive NW and turn left.
Almost there. Next, turn right by the fire station onto Drummond
Dr. NW, and follow it up the hill. At the top of the hill, the road
"T"s. A right onto Moller drive, a left on Sunrise Beach Dr., and the
park will be down the hill on your left. Whew!

I typically gear up in the parking area and head down the dirt path
through the grassy field that heads to the water (it is obvious). The
dirt path eventually becomes gravel towards the end. (Note the picnic
table to the left of this location - it may be a handy rest stop on
the way back up!). To get to the beach, you need to step down a small
pile of stones, which can be slippery or shift, so make certain you
have a solid foothold before stepping on the rocks. I can't imagine
that falling down onto rocks with 80 pounds of scuba gear on your back
is any fun.

Once you get to the beach, head south. Please note that the public
beach area is limited. Walk along the beach until you see the lone
piling that very clearly marks the park boundary area. This is where
you MUST enter the water. The property to the south is private. I
have seen local residence taking pictures of trespassing divers,
presumably making a case to stop shore diving in this area. I also
have seen divers walk into the water at the piling, then walk there up
the private shoreline in 1-2 feet of water (see, I'm in the water!).
Legally, this does not cut it. Private property rights extend to the
mean low low tide mark, which means that you really need to swim the
100 or so yards to the wall. This also gives you an "opportunity" to
test the current conditions on the shelf. Respect the rights of
others or we all may loose the right to visit this Puget Sound Eden.

Once you enter the water, swim south until you see a lone old
deadsnag tree and a couple of pilings on the shore. I usually descend
at this point and head out on a course of 115 degrees. I usually hit
the north end of the wall around 30 to 35 feet. If I get to 45 feet
and have not seen the wall, I know I have missed it (which I have not
done yet!) :-)

Warning: This site is extremely current intensive. I would
not consider this a beginner's dive by any stretch of the imagination.
In fact, the currents here have KILLED divers. It is absolutely
critical that this site be done at corrected slack. I almost always
do this dive at slack when the tidal exchange on both sides of slack
results in currents of less than 2 knots at the Narrows. The current
at this site also almost always runs to the north, even on floods.
The one exception is the current tends to go slack, then flow south
about 90 minutes before slack before flood at the Narrows, the go
slack again, then head north right around the same time as slack
before flood at the Narrows. If I time it right, I can ride the
reversal south, dive during the slack, then ride the northerly
currently back to the public beach and minimize the surface swim.

On slack before ebb, my experience has been that the current is at
it's minimal about 60 or 70 minutes before slack before ebb at the
Narrows, which means I am starting my dive about 90 to 100 minutes
before slack before ebb at the Narrow. This is contrary to when NWSD
says slack before ebb occurs at this site. I recently did a dive here
on slack before ebb where I had a beautiful 60 minute dive in slack
water. I was in the water about 90 minutes before slack before ebb at
the Narrows. After about 60 minutes, the current really picked up
quickly, and vis dropped from 15 to 3 feet in a matter of two minutes
(no kidding). I rode the current back to the public beach, where a
large group of students were just entering the water. Despite my
warnings, they proceeded. After I hiked up the will and got out of my
gear, I went back down to see how they were doing. They were all
sitting in the shore wondering when the current was going to slow
down. They had missed the window.

Keep in mind, current predictions are just that - predictions.
When diving here, you need to let common sense prevail and be ready to
abort the dive at a moments notice. I am a very strong swimmer (I lap
swim 1 to 2 miles a week) and have been foolishly caught in a
waterfalling current at Sunrise that I could not swim against. In
this situation, I literally had to claw my way back up the slope to
the shore. I have done about 30 dives at this site so far, and have
had to abort two dives due to the current, even though I was diving at
predicted slack. Remember, divers have been killed at this site.

One final note. This site is a marine preserve. Treat this site
like the treasure that it is. If is a wonderful place to dive, and
harvesting anything from this site is a crime (legally and
morally). Having a site in our own backyard where we can feed and
handle Wolf-eels is a real privilege. In fact, I think most divers
who have handled friendly Wolf-eels all agree that it is an almost
religious experience. Let's respect the habitat of these Wolf-eels so
they hopefully do us the honor of sticking around.